AUSTIN, Texas -- Mount Holyoke College senior Marion Abeja received Division III Volleyball Second Team Academic All-America honors on Wednesday, a rare distinction recognizing exceptional academic and athletic performance.
A chemistry major who maintains a 4.0 grade point average, Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) is one of 22 Division III Academic All-Americans named, and one of eight players selected to the Second Team.
The 2022 Academic All-America Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly known as CoSIDA), recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field or court and in the classroom.
Abeja joined the Lyons volleyball team as a junior last season and became the team's most versatile player, playing setter, outside hitter and right-side hitter at various times.
Abeja ranked among the Lyons' top five players in every statistical category (kills, digs, assists, blocks, aces), and she ranked first among all NEWMAC players, and 38th in Division III, in aces per set (0.69). Abeja helped Mount Holyoke finish 13-12 in 2022, the Lyons' first winning record since 1992.
She is one of only two players from a New England institution on the list, along with First Team selection Ottavia Personeni of MIT. Only four of the other 21 Division III Academic All-Americans have a 4.0 GPA.
